Sales for the regional chain reportedly plummeted by 60 percent last year to $40 million while losses swelled from $403,000 in 1999 to $6.9 million in 2000.

An attorney for the privately held company said it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 after consolidating operations and renegotiating with its creditors. The chain has already closed one store and will likely shut a second in order to focus on its Wayne, N.J. and Woodbridge, N.J. locations, he said.